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Tort Litigation: All the Recent Developments - Saturday, 23 June 2018


About the course

    • Date
      • 23 June 2018
    • Time
      • 9.30 - 1.30pm
    • Venue
      • Hamilton Building
    • CPD Hours/Numbers
      • 3.5

    A great deal has been happening in tort litigation over recent months. The Supreme Court has handed down several important judgments, on the duty of care, professional negligence, economic loss, and the liability of public authorities. The Court of Appeal has been extremely busy on issues relating to the calculation of damages, occupiers’ liability, employers’ liability and defamation. Judges of the High Court have handed down very many judgments on all aspects of practice and procedure in tort litigation as well as emerging areas of liability.

    The conference will be chaired by The Honorable Mr. Justice Anthony Barr. There is a strong team of speakers and there will be opportunity for questions and discussion.

    Questions to be addressed:

    • Why did the Court of Appeal in University College Cork – National University of Ireland v Electricity Supply Board [2018] IECA 82 reverse Barrett J’s judgment in a claim for negligence and nuisance?
    • What approach did the Supreme Court adopt in Rosbeg Partners v LK Shields (a firm) [2018] IESC 23 towards calculating damages for professional negligence occurring during a fluctuating property market?
    • How did the Supreme Court in Bates v Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food [2018] IESC 5 deal with the issue of the liability of a public authority for negligent advice?
    • How did Barr J in Browne v Van Geene [2018] IEHC 24 address the costs issues arising where the plaintiff failed to beat the lodgement?
    • Why did the Court of Appeal in an employers’ liability claim in Moloney v Templeville Developments Ltd [2018] IECA 47 hold that res ipsa loquitur did not apply?
    • In Condon v Allied Irish Bank [2018] IEHC 92, what did Ni Raifeartaigh J have to say regarding a bank’s duty of care in monitoring the lodgements into and withdrawals from customers’ accounts?
    • How did Ni Raifeartaigh J dispose of the issue of accrual of a cause of action in a professional negligence claim in Elliott v ACC Bank Plc [2017] IEHC 808?
    • What lessons can be learned from Genockey v Bank of Ireland [2017] IEHC 498 as to the duty of care on a prospective employer when engaging in the hiring process?
    • How did Cross J determine the issues arising under the Liability for Defective Products Act 1991 in Connolly v Fas and Werkhuizen Landuyt NV [2017] IEHC 472?
    • What approach has the Court of Appeal been adopting towards occupiers’ liability in Byrne v Ardenheath Company Ltd [2017] IECA 293, O’Flynn v Cherry Hill Inns Ltd t/a Oliver Plunkett Bar [2017] IECA 211 and Newman v Cogan [2017] IECA 176?
    • What was the outcome of the defamation claim in Corrigan v Kevin P Kilrane and Company Solicitors [2017] IEHC 488?
    • How did the Court of Appeal in Christie v TV Television Networks Ltd [2017] IECA 128 determine the damages to be awarded where the defendant has made an offer of amends under section 22 of the Defamation Act 2009 which has been accepted by the plaintiff?
    • In Gore (A Minor) v Walsh [2017] IECA278, how did the Court of Appeal deal with the computation of damages for what Irvine J acknowledged was “the smallest scar that I have ever seen form the subject matter of High Court proceedings in more than 35 years of legal practice”?
    • What had the Court of Appeal to say in Fogarty v Cox [2017] IECA 309 as to the circumstances in which an appellate court may interfere with an award of general damages made by the trial judge?
    • What approach for assessing damages did the Court of Appeal favour in Phoenix v Dunnes Stores [2018] IECA 111 for cases where the injury exacerbates an underlying vulnerability or condition, such as depression?
    • What are the implications for internet defamation of the Court of Appeal’s decision in Muwema v Facebook Ireland Ltd [2018] IECA 104?
    • What did McDermott J have to say in Hurley v An Post [2018] IEHC 166 on the issues of PTSD and the court’s discretion under section 22 of the Courts Act 1981 when awarding interest on an award for loss of earnings in a bullying claim?
    • Why did Barton J make a reduction of 15% under the Reddy v Bates principle in Flanagan v Minister for Public Expenditure [2018] IEHC 208?


Programme

9.00 Registration
9.20

Recent developments in employers’ liability, vicarious liability and the non-delegable duty of care

Dr Desmond Ryan is a practising barrister specialising in employment law and an Associate Professor and Fellow at Trinity College Dublin, where he lectures in employment law and torts. He is co-author of Employment Law in Ireland (2009) and has published widely on the subject in a number of journals, including the Irish Employment Law Journal.

10.00

Recent developments on negligence claims against doctors and lawyers

This paper will consider damages claims under the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679; GDPR) in four contexts:

Dr. Ciaran Craven is a Senior Counsel. He is co-author of Psychiatry and the Law (2nd ed. 2010) and books tort litigation and medical negligence litigation.

10.30

Recent developments on damages awards

Dr Val Corbett is Head of Programmes at LawSchool.ie, a legal education provider. He is co-author of Employment Law in Ireland (2009), author of Tort Law (Round Hall, 2009) and co-editor of the Tort Law and Litigation Review.

11.00 Tea/Coffee
11.20

Recent developments in issues of practice and procedure in torts litigation

David Nolan is a Senior Counsel and Mediator. He practices in the areas of personal injury, insurance, non-jury and commercial law. He is a former Chairman of the Bar Council.

11.50

Recent developments on the duty of care, economic loss, the liability of public authorities, occupiers' liability and the Statute of Limitations and defamation

William Binchy is a practising barrister, Adjunct Professor of Law at Trinity College Dublin and co-author of McMahon and Binchy’s Law of Torts (4th ed., 2013).

12.20-1.00 Questions and Discussion
8.00 Conference ends

Reservations

Fees: €180 for 1

Group rates: €320 for 2; €460 for 3; €575 for 4.

Reduced rates: €130 for members of the TCD Law School CPD programme; €150 for members of the Bar called within the past 5 years.

Note: delegates who also wish to apply to attend Civil Litigation conference may avail of a further discount of €270 for 2 conferences. Further group rates for more than one delegate are available. Please contact the CPD Programme Office

Fees are inclusive of tea/coffee break and conference papers.